The Winchester experience with the TDS hospital information system.

The Royal Hampshire County Hospital is a pilot site for the Resource Management Initiative. It is also the pilot site within the Wessex Region for the Hospital Information System (HIS). We have pursued an ambitious, integrated information system strategy within the hospital. This has been planned and most of it implemented within a short timescale. Although some of the remaining difficulties are technical, the greatest challenges relate to people, their reactions to the introduction of new technology and the need to acquire new skills. The training and development of staff become critical. The importance of an effective management structure with major medical and nursing involvement has been, and will remain, crucial to our continued progress.